December 6-7 2025


What can you expect to see at the Community Observatory this weekend?

We have been disappointed with the quality of the sky lately. We have been having fog and high humidity. This is in spite of the weather predicting “mostly clear” nights. The forecast for Friday and Saturday is, once again, for “mostly clear” skies. We are most likely to open but you should always check communityobservatory.com after 3 PM to make sure we won’t be closed.

There is a special full moon on Thursday. The appropriately named “Cold Moon” will be a super moon. That means that the closest point in its orbit, its “perigee,” occurs during the full moon. Since it is closer, it will appear to be bigger and brighter than normal. It also occurs at “lunar standstill.” This is a bit more complex to explain. The Moon’s orbit is tilted 5 degrees compared to the ecliptic, the plane of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. Combine this with the Earth’s 23.5 degree tilt and the Moon can be substantially higher or lower in the sky. Some times the Moon is above the ecliptic and sometimes it is below. This month’s full moon corresponds with the point where its orbit is as high as it gets above the ecliptic. This is called “lunar standstill” and it was one of the things that Stonehenge was built to track.

We were able to show Jupiter for the first time last Friday as it is finally moving into the evening sky. We also were able to briefly see the Orion Constellation before the fog shut us down. Saturn continues to be an awesome site.

We will have “Solar Saturday” at MOSAC on Saturday between 10 AM and Noon. This will be a great opportunity for you to see not only sunspots but solar flares and prominences. We have safe, dedicated solar scopes that can reveal these features. Join us on the sidewalk near the entrance to the Museum of Science and Curiosity.

Be sure to mark your calendars for the following Saturday. The best meteor shower of the year occurs on December 13th and into the morning of the 14th. We will have our regular crew from 7:30-9:30 but some of us will stay on until 1 AM. With no moon to interfere this <<could>> be a great show with over a hundred meteors per hour. Bring warm clothes, a knit cap, and perhaps a blanket or sleeping bag. The clear and cold conditions that make for great seeing can make for a miserable night if you aren’t prepared.

Please monitor our website (with a link to this blog) or Facebook for the latest information and for possible weather closures.

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